1217 Three Revolutionary Films by Ousmane Sembène

[Finch]

Having blazed a trail for African filmmakers to tell their own stories on-screen, Senegalese auteur Ousmane Sembène took his career-long project—to unlock cinema’s potential as a vehicle for social change—in increasingly urgent and provocative directions in the 1970s. Searing critiques of colonialism, political corruption, patriarchal arrogance, and religious indoctrination, his three features from this decade—the radical call to resistance Emitaï, the wickedly subversive satire Xala, and the controversial historical epic Ceddo—confirmed his standing as a fearless truth-teller for whom the camera was the ultimate weapon in the fight against oppression in all its forms.

Emitaï 1971
With revolutionary outrage, Ousmane Sembène chronicles a period during World War II when French colonial forces in Senegal conscripted young men of the Diola people and attempted to seize rice stores for soldiers back in Europe. As the tribe’s patriarchal leaders pray and make sacrifices to their gods, the women in the community refuse to yield their harvests, incurring the French army’s wrath. With a deep understanding of the oppressive forces that have shaped Senegalese history, Emitaï explores the strains that colonialism places upon cultural traditions and, in the process, discovers a people’s hidden reserves of rebellion and dignity.

Xala 1975
An adaptation of Ousmane Sembène’s own 1973 novel, Xala is a hilarious, caustic satire of political corruption under an inept patriarchy. On the night of his wedding to his third bride, government official El Hadji (Thierno Leye) is rendered impotent and begins to suspect that one of his other wives has placed a curse on him. After seeking a cure from a local marabout, El Hadji must face the possibility that he deserves the infliction for his part in embezzling public funds and for helping to keep Senegal under French control. Adeptly combining elements of African folklore and popular cinema, Sembène indicts the hubris, entitlement, and opportunism of male authority figures.

Ceddo 1977
In precolonial Senegal, members of the Ceddo (or “outsiders”) kidnap Princess Dior Yacine (Tabata Ndiaye) after her father, the king, pledges loyalty to an ascendant Islamic faction that plans to convert the entire clan to its faith. Attempts to recapture her fail, provoking further division and eventual war between the animistic Ceddo and the fundamentalist Muslims, with Christian missionaries and slave traders from Europe also playing a role in the conflict. Banned in Senegal upon its release, Ceddo is an ambitious, multilayered epic that explores the combustible tensions among ancient tradition, religious colonization, political expediency, and individual freedom.

THREE-DISC SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital restorations of all three films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
New conversation between Mahen Bonetti, founder and executive director of the African Film Festival, and film writer Amy Sall
The Making of “Ceddo,” a 1981 documentary by Paulin Soumanou Vieyra
New English subtitle translations
PLUS: An essay by film scholar Yasmina Price

New cover by Ify Chiejina

[knives]

Terrible extras, but with these films I almost want to ask who cares. Absolutely amazing set with Xala in particular being one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.

[What A Disgrace]

Release of the year so far, don't care that the extras are light.

It's also worth noting that Criterion has so far released Sembene's films in chronological order, and we now have 5 of the 9 features he directed.

[brundlefly]

To hell with context! Grateful for these, but I feel like they're counting on gratitude to gloss over a lack of effort.

[domino harvey]

I guess the short lived days of the 79.99 price point three film sets are gone. I had high hopes for more releases in that vein, oh well

[ryannichols7]

To hell with context! Grateful for these, but I feel like they're counting on gratitude to gloss over a lack of effort.

that's basically what they've been doing the last few years, let's be real

[Peacock]

Agreed about the shockingly poor extras, though happy to see the making of of Ceddo included.

Also agreed that this is going to be hard to top as release of the year. Well done Criterion.

[ryannichols7]

if I didn't like the other two Sembène that Criterion released, any hope here?

[the__projectionist]

Wondering what happened to Guelwaar which is acquired by Janus along with these films.

[What A Disgrace]

Wondering what happened to Guelwaar which is acquired by Janus along with these films.

This is ostensibly a boxed set of his 70s features, so I assume it'll get an individual release.

[Matt]

Wondering what happened to Guelwaar which is acquired by Janus along with these films.

Given the number of African films Janus has acquired that Criterion has so far not released, I've been half-expecting some kind of survey or introductory box set of African films. There have been several that I wouldn't think would merit an individual release, but who knows what Criterion will or won't release these days. Reminds me of the old pre-Channel, pre-Eclipse days when they would license masses of films and then just sit on them.

[beamish14]

This would’ve been a perfect opportunity to include the novel of Xala, which I think has been OOP for years

[Saturnome]

if I didn't like the other two Sembène that Criterion released, any hope here?

Not sure, honestly. These are the films I've discovered Sembène with (but Emitaï much later after the others). I'd rank them above Mandabi, at least, but after seeing it I think you get a good idea of what Sembène does. Mooladé may still be worth a shot. And it's a very wild card, but I liked Faat Kiné a lot, it's very much like a low budget film made to be seen by a local audience instead of an international one

I tend to give up some directors after a few films I didn't like, but I still watch Mizoguchi films and I don't like his work very much, after 12 films. He's interesting, though.

[thirtyframesasecond]

This sounds a great box set - I've seen Xala but Emitai/Ceddo will be new to me. I wonder if Criterion has rights to Camp de Thiaroye, which is an astonishing film.

[hearthesilence]

This sounds a great box set - I've seen Xala but Emitai/Ceddo will be new to me. I wonder if Criterion has rights to Camp de Thiaroye, which is an astonishing film.

Possibly. FWIW, Film Forum programmed a retrospective of Ousmane Sembène's work last September. The main page says "The films of Ousmane Sembène are distributed by Janus FIlms" so I was guessing the DCP's they were screening were for likely candidates for a Criterion reissue. However Camp de Thiaroye was screened in 35mm courtesy of the Harvard Film Archive, which on the one hand was great for the audience but on the other hand a sign that a digital transfer or restoration hadn't been done yet.

Xala, Emitai and Ceddo and only those three were advertised as new 4K restorations, so it seemed like a sure bet we'd get the box set that's now been annonced.

[domino harvey]

BFI Film Classics is also releasing a new edition on Xala in May

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

BFI Film Classics is also releasing a new edition on Xala in May

That's great news! The Sembene releases have been favorites of mine so kudos to Janus for restoring them. But if Criterion's producer on this release doesn't have the budget for more extras could they at least add a recommended reading bibliography? I'm more annoyed at the price point for this one than having to do some extra homework that I would have done anyway.